Afar Region

The Afar region is situated in the Ethiopia portion of the Great Rift Valley. Since the late 1960s, it has attracted the attention of researchers because of its uniqueness as the world’s only active, superior triple junction site where complex tectonics and volcanisms take place in an area between separating lithosphere plates (African, Eastern Africa, and Arabian) which can be observed on dry land. From its archeological significance, it was from this region that LUCY, the oldest hominid skeleton dating at about 3.5million years was discovered. Anyone who wants to visit the homeland of this great, great, great Grandmother of the world’s 6 billion people, they have to travel to the Afar region. The Denakil Depression, at 120 meters below sea level, is one of the lowest points on the earth’s surface where the permanent active volcano site of Erta’Ale is found.

Festivals

Christmas is also one of the biggest ceremonies which fall on 7 January.The celebration of Timket or Epiphany, on the 19 January is probably the biggest festival of the year. On the eve of Timket, with great ceremony the sacred tabot (the replica of the ark of the covenant) is taken from each church by the priests up to the central area where the ceremony twill take place.